This paper briefly presents some of the R & D activities taken up by the Fibre-Reinforced Plastics (Frp) Research Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, in the last seven years. The studies covered in this paper include the analysis of heat shield, development of vibration mounting for rocket motor casings, design and development of metal-lined pressure bottles, study of the effect of nuclear radiation on filament wound shells, design and development of high voltage disc insulators, study of underwater-acoustic characteristics of Frp and development of some of the processing techniques. The paper also lists a number of products developed by the Centre for meeting the immediate needs of society. Finally, the ongoing academic and sponsored research programmes are briefly outlined. © 1987 the Indian Academy of Sciences.